The impacts on communities with environmental justice concerns related to the Texas LNG Project in Brownsville and NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project would be “disproportionate and adverse”, the US Federal Regulatory Commission (FERC) has said.
FERC put out supplemental environmental impact statements in response to environmental concerns related to the pair of export projects.
The statements follow concerns raised in relation to the liquefied natural gas facilities in August last year by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
For both projects, the court said at the time that FERC didn’t issue a supplemental EIS that properly discussed impacts on communities with environmental justice concerns or explain why it didn’t use data from a specific air quality monitor in its analysis.
FERC has now found that Texas LNG’s impacts on communities with environmental justice concerns would be unfair and harmful, especially for those near the terminal.
It also raised concerns about air quality, but said the effects would be minimal.
For Rio Grande LNG, FERC believes the project’s impacts on communities would be disproportionate and negative, especially the visual impact for those nearby.
Here again, it raised concerns about air quality, but said the effects would be minimal.
Texas LNG would have the capacity to produce up to four million tonnes per year of LNG for export. If successful, the project would be constructed in two phases, each with a capacity of two million tonnes per year.
Rio Grande LNG is larger, with plans to export 27 million tonnes per annum of LNG. The project also includes a terminal for LNG truck transportation and fuelling operations.
